NCCo Police warn of IRS telephone scam

Con men are reportedly targeting New Castle County residents with a telephone scam in which they pretend to be an agent of the Internal Revenue Service.

By Scott Gossscott.goss@doverpost.com@MiddletownScott

Con men are reportedly targeting New Castle County residents with a telephone scam in which they pretend to be an agent of the Internal Revenue Service.

The New Castle County Police Department says it has received a number of reports about the scam in recent weeks and is warning residents not to fall for the con.

In each instance, the fraudulent IRS agent calls from a telephone number with the Washington D.C. area code “202” and demands the residents make a “tax payment” by purchasing a pre-paid credit card and sending it to the caller, according to Officer Tracey Duffy, a spokeswoman for the police department.

The scammer also has threatened residents with deportation or arrest if a “payment” is not made, she said, adding that victims of the scam have paid out thousands of dollars.

IRS officials issued warnings of a similar scam in October.

Scammers perpetrating the fraud have even used fake IRS badge numbers, provided the last four digits of the victims’ Social Security numbers, tricked Caller IDs into showing the IRS toll-free number and sent bogus IRS emails, agency officials said.

“This scam has hit taxpayers in nearly every state in the country,” said IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel. “Rest assured we do not and will not ask for credit card numbers over the phone, nor request a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer.”

Werfel said the IRS’s first contact with taxpayers is typically via mail and the agency never asks for personal identification numbers, passwords or access to credit card, bank or other financial accounts.

New Castle County Police said law enforcement agents also do not request money in lieu of arrest or deportation.

Anyone who receives a phone call from an IRS agent they suspect of being a scammer is asked to call the New Castle County Police Department at (302) 573-2800.

Anonymous information also can be provided by calling Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333.